How Many CTOs · 2026-06-09 · 42 min
In this episode of "How Many CTOs Does It Take?" podcast, hosts Scott Porad is joined by guest Stephanie Sylvestre , founder of AvatarBuddy, an AI company started 10 years ago to help people be the best version of themselves. Sylvestre argues for "AI plus human" rather than job elimination, and tells the story of how AvatarBuddy evolved from early research and prototypes to joining the OpenAI developer community in 2021, using teenagers for requirements and testing, and adopting curated "data vault" approaches (RAG) to improve results. AvatarBuddy provides managed AI-as-a-service, building and managing AI agents and advising clients, with tight controls on configuration. Sylvestre discusses her consulting process of AI opportunity mapping to identify root bottlenecks, with examples like reducing email overload by capturing requirements, creating digital twins for executive review, accelerating marketing work, and shortening month-end close, while warning that AI built without software engineering understanding can amplify security risks. The episode ends by affirming how AI not only allows for efficiency, but support for unique working styles that boosts morale.
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